Check if your train journey will be impacted by current and future major rail construction projects!
The vast majority of the work to improve railway lines, which impacts on the frequency and journey times info as per the journey guides, is completed over one Sat/Sun period.
So if you can't find a usual route or a train departure online, it can be worth having a look at the links to the national construction work, which you will find below.
You may then have to translate what you'll find, but it can be worth the effort to discover what's occurring and to glean whether you'll need to take a bus for part of the journey, or whether trains are being diverted.
Alterations to the usual service are often not particularly obvious when looking up the journey on a ticket booking service.
The information included below is a guide to the the more extensive construction projects which are impacting on train services for a week or more.
Therefore these are the projects which are good to be aware of if you're planning a rail pass itinerary and want to avoid any hassle, or are wondering why a typical connection isn't available on multiple dates.
These are the upcoming rail construction projects which;
Due to construction work, all long-distance trains between Vienna Hbf and Wr.Neustadt will be rerouted from June 29, 2024 to September 2, 2024 .
This will extend the journey times and alter arrival and departure times of the trains on the Wien ↔ Graz and Wien ↔ Villach routes.
From Sunday evening 18 February up to and including Sunday 10 March, there will be some alterations on the main long-distance rail route in Denmark; CPH Lufthavn - Copenhagen H - Fredericia - Aarhus H - Aalborg in the evening, at night and in the early morning hours.
This is how the trains run:
1: From March 19th to March 22nd the capacity of Marseille St Charles station is limited, so almost all of the TGV InOui services which usually travel between Nice/Marseille and the North-East of France/Luxembourg/Germany will not be serving Marseille Saint-Charles station.
Trains between Paris and Marseille will be unaffected.
2: From the evening of May 8th to the morning of May 12th, as well as from the morning of May 18th to midday on may May 20th, because of track modernization work near Montpellier St Roch, the TGV InOui services which usually travel between Montpellier St Roch / NÎmes Centre stations and the North-East of France / Luxembourg, will instead be diverted to call at Montpellier Sud de France and Nîmes Pont-Du-Gard stations.
3:
• from Friday March 29, 11:15 p.m. to Monday, April 1, 5 a.m. (Easter weekend)
• Sunday, April 7
• Sunday, April 14
work at Paris Garde de Lyon is reducing the capacity of the station to handle the usual level service by 50%, so some TGV InOui services will be unable to use the stations on these dates.
Some services including the Paris ↔ Barcelona trains and most of the trains between Paris and Nimes, Montpellier and Perpignan will instead be using the Gare de Montparnasse.
4: From May 8th at the end of the afternoon to May 11th in the middle of the afternoon; and From May 18 to May 20th Angoulême and Libourne stations are not served by TGV.
5: From May 8th at the beginning of the afternoon to May 12th at the beginning of the afternoon, railway development work is taking place south of Bordeaux and north of Toulouse, so the Paris <> Toulouse TGVs will be turned around in Bordeaux.
6: From May 18th in the early afternoon to May 29th in the early afternoon, maintenance work takes place around Rennes, so the Paris <> Brest TGVs and the Paris <> Saint-Malo TGVs will be turned around in Rennes
An overview of major construction projects can be found on the German language version of the DB website - so use Google Translate if need be.
1: The high speed line between between Kassel and Fulda
Until March 1st, a key section of the primary north<>south high-speed line in Germany is closed due to renewal works.
During the this time, the ICE trains travelling between Kassel and Gotlingen will be diverted on to the older classic line, which the high-speed route avoids.
The (Kiel) - Hamburg or Bremen - Hannover - Kassel - Wurzburg - Nurnberg - (Augsburg) - Munchen services will be diverted on to a slower route.
During this time these trains will mainly depart at their usual time and operate at their usual schedules between Munchen and Fulda when heading north; and between Hamburg/Bremen and Kassel when heading south, but the diversion will add around 60 mins to the journey time.
As a result trains from Munchen will arrive at Kassel, Gottingen, Hannover, Bremen. Hamburg and destinations north of Hamburg around an hour later than the usual timetable.
In the opposite direction heading south, trains from Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover, will arrive into Fulda, Wurzburg, Nurnberg and Munchen an hour later than the usual time.
However, in order to minimize disruption to arrival and departures at the extremities of the ICE routes, particularly in Switzerland, the long-standing routes of many ICE services are to be drastically altered until March 1st
ICE route 12 is the Berlin - Wolfsburg - Braunschweig - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Olten Bern - Interlaken route.
However, the trains on this route are turning round Frankfurt (Main) and won't be calling in Braunschweig and Hildersheim
ICE route 20 is the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Zurich - Chur route.
However, it has had its Swiss destinations switched so that it takes over the Germany ↔ Olten - Bern - Interlaken service of route 12, instead of its calls in Zurich, Landquart and Chur.
It is also be around 45 mins slower on the part of the route between Hannover and Frankfurt (Main).
So the current 1 x train per day on the Hamburg ↔ Interlaken route has temporarily become a three trains per day service, with other departures being turned around in Basel.
The Germany ↔ Zurich - Landquart - Chur service usually provided by route 20 is being covered by a major change to route 11.
Route 11 usually takes a Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - München route.
However, it is currently taking a Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - Basel - Zurich (Landquart - Chur) route.
As a result the Germany ↔ Zurich route is being covered by trains which won't be on a route impacted by the works on the high-speed line.
The usual Frankfurt (Main) ↔ München section of route 11 is to be covered by a change to route 22.
Instead of being a Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen - ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart route, it is already a
Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - München route.
So that a direct service can be maintained between Berlin and Stuttgart, route 15 is being extended beyond Frankfurt (Main) to provide a Berlin - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart route.
The route 13 service of Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Sud) - Frankfurt Flughafen is being withdrawn until March 1st
2: Frankfurt (Main) Hbf / Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim
The Riedbahn railway which connects one of the main hubs of the German rail system, Mannheim, with destinations to the north, is to be closed for improvement work in 2024from July 15th to December 14th.
It is typically used by these regularly timetabled ICE trains, which on the usual timetable operate every two hours:
However, when the route was closed in January, the typical pattern for the regular ICE services was:
And presumably this will also be the service pattern from July 15th to December 14th.
3: At Bochum
Until 9pm on Feb 23rd the route taken by long-distance trains through Bochum is closed, with no ICE, IC and EC trains calling at Bochum Hbf.
Many ICE trains are being diverted on to a route via Solingen so the usual station calls in Dusseldorf, Duisburg and Essen are also cancelled
4: Between Duisburg and Essen:
Due to a bridge replacement the railway route between Duisburg and Essen is closed from March 23rd to April 7th inclusive:
5: On the Karlsruhe to Basel route:
From Monday, March 18th, 6:30 a.m. to Monday, March 25th, 5:00 am, several ICE trains are canceled between Karlsruhe Hbf and Basel SBB.
From August 9th to August 30th, the route between Rastatt and Baden-Baden will be closed to rail traffic.
The ICE trains which usually travel between these locations are:
1: to Fort William and Mallaig
From March 16th to March 24th engineering work is taking place between Upper Tyndrum and Roy Bridge, and between Spean Bridge and Arisaig, closing all lines.
As a result buses replace trains between Crianlarich and Fort William, and between Fort William and Mallaig.
A bus service also connects Tulloch, Roy Bridge and Spean Bridge stations with Fort. William, but there will be no service at Rannoch or Corrour stations.
Services between Glasgow Queen Street and Oban operate as normal.
2: to Tenby and Pembroke
From March 18th to March 27th, engineering work is taking place between Whitland and Pembroke Dock, closing all lines.
As a result buses will replace trains between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.
Each train will be replaced by two buses:
3: Euston station over the Easter holiday weekend
Between Friday 29 March to Monday 1 April 2024 London Euston station will be closed due to improvement works on the railway.
Apart from London Overground, no train services will call at Euston, with all Avanti West Coast services will be starting and ending at Milton Keynes Central.
4: At Worcester
From April 22nd to April 26th engineering work is taking place between Evesham / Cheltenham Spa and Worcester Shrub Hill, closing all lines.
As a consequence;
1: On the main north ↔ south route
On the nights of:
2: Milano to Domodossola
The route between Domodossola and Milano is being reconstructed over the next couple of years, so in 2024 the railway between Arona and Stresa is closed completely from June 9th to September 8th.
The Dovre Railway Line has suffered storm damage in multiple locations, including the collapse of a river bridge.
As a result there will be no direct trains to Trondheim from Oslo for some time.
Here are the details of the alternative travel arrangements.
1: Starting Monday, September 11, the transversal trains that connect Galicia with Catalonia will adjust their departure schedule after the summer period, remaining as follows:
ALVIA 621 Vigo Guixar (7:42 a.m.) – Barcelona Sants (9:35 p.m.)
Advances its departure to 7:20 a.m. Carry out the section between Ourense and Monforte de Lemos by road
ALVIA 622 Barcelona Sants (9:30 a.m.) – Vigo Guixar (11:35 p.m.)
Departure is brought forward to 9:05 a.m. Carry out the section between Monforte de Lemos and Ourense by road
ALVIA 625 A Coruña (8:05 a.m.) – Barcelona Sants (9:35 p.m.)
Departure is brought forward to 7:45 a.m. Carry out the section between Ourense and Monforte de Lemos by road
ALVIA 626 Barcelona Sants (9:30 a.m.) – A Coruña (10:54 p.m.)
Departure is brought forward to 9:05 a.m. Carry out the section between Monforte de Lemos and Ourense by road
2: Comprehensive renovation works on the Zaragoza-Huesca-Canfranc line, which cut rail traffic between Huesca and Canfranc until May 2024.
A bus substitution will be in place.
These are the upcoming major works on the railway lines, that will be impacting on international railway routes over sustained periods of time.
No TGV trains from France will serve Luxembourg station on February 17 and 18, March 2 and 3:
This work also continues over the last 2 weekends of April, over a continuous period from mid-July to mid-September, then another 3 weekends at the end of 2024.
The end of this work in Luxembourg is scheduled for 2027.
The railway between Arona and Stresa is closed completely from June 9th to September 8th, so during these dates the following EC express train services will be turning around in Domodossola:
Geneve - Lausanne - Sion - Visp - Brig - Domodossola ↔ Stresa - Milano
Basel - Olten - Bern - Thun - Spiez - Visp - Brig - Domodossola ↔ Stresa -Milano
From August 10th to September 9th 2024 the railway across the Austria / Switzerland border between Buchs and Feldkich will be closed due to reconstruction work.
This is the route taken by the daytime Railjet trains on the Zurich ↔ Innsbruck - Salzburg - Wien - Budapest / Bratislava route.
The rail replacement services are to be arranged; presumably the night trains between Zurich and Budapest, Wien and Zagreb will be diverted on to a much longer route.
From August 9th to August 30th 2024, the railway between Rastatt and Baden-Baden will be closed to rail traffic.
The ICE trains which usually travel between these locations are on these routes:
An ICE train will run every hour from Basel SBB to Baden-Baden. Rail replacement buses will run between Baden-Baden and Rastatt.
Fom July 15th to December 14th the TGV trains from Paris won't be serving Frankfurt (Main) hbf and Mannheim Hbf
From January 8th to February 29th the trains only run on the section between Zurich and Oberndorf (Neckar)
A replacement bus service will be set up between Oberndorf (Neckar) and Böblingen.
Böblingen can be reached from Stuttgart Hbf and Vaihingen (Stuttgart) by S-Bahn trains.
Due to construction work, trains IC 310, IC 311, IC 312 and IC 313 cannot run between Szentgotthárd and Graz Hbf from March 23, 2024 to April 1, 2024; and from May 25, 2024 to June 2, 2024 .
Buses will replace the trains between these two stations.
The affected services includes the Wien/Vienna ↔ Ljubljana route.
From March 16 to April 4 inclusive, due to track modernization work near Stuttgart, the direct trains between Paris and both Munich and Stuttgart will be turned around in Karlsruhe.
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